Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
I knew nothing about this book before starting to read it so had no idea what to expect. I had also not read anything by Setterfield before so was not familiar with her writing style or genre. I was therefore delighted to be immediately captivated by the story and characters and fell in love with Setterfield’s style. The novel is set in the nineteenth century in Oxfordshire and takes place along the banks of the Thames. The river is central to the story and to the characters’ lives. They have a complicated relationship with the water, as it is both a life-giving necessity and a life-threatening danger. Setterfield cleverly uses the river to drive the story and also reveal aspects of her characters’ personalities. The crux of the story is that a 4 year old girl’s body is pulled out of the river. This has a profound impact on everyone in the local community and they spend a great deal of time pondering, speculating and attempting to work ...